OK what wheels and tires?

I’ve started scrounging for wheels and tires.  5 lugs 4&3//4 bolt spacing. Corvette,  Camero   This is a chicken and egg question. I can’t select wheels until I know what sized tires are readily available used.  And if the good tires cost a lot more in one size than another that eliminates that size.  

My chief concern is price.  Both for the wheels and tires.  So common is good!! Out of fashion  is better!   Used is best!   This is for track use but  I’m not worried about the fenders.  I’ll flare them or roll them, Whatever, It’s easy for me to deal with.  

I like different diameter wheels/ tires because it’s a whole lot easier to change a set a wheels than a rear end.  

I race at tracks that have really high speed straights with tight corners to open wheels that will allow a lot of heat to radiate out is great. And the lighter the better.  

17 - 18 - 19 will work if the profile is low enough. 9 & 1/2 to 12 inch wide but I’d like them all to be the same.  

Do you have a ballpark for tire overall diameter that you want to run or that will fit the car well? 

In reply to frenchyd :

I have both 16  17  for early c4  and an  18/19 set for late c4                        100 for early.    400 for staggerd set  

From 17" to 19", bigger will be more expensive (and likely heavier). Those diameters have the best selection of performance tires these days, 18" being the best of all. If money weren't an issue I'd say go for 18x12s and put 315/30R18s on them.

Having owned a 4th gen *Camaro* (Crammit is acceptable too if you please ), here's what I recall from wheel shopping. C4 "sawblades" used to be the cheap wheels until they became cool with the VAGwagon crowd. Now they're overpriced and C5 "wagon wheels" are generally your cheapest option for decent sizes. IIRC the rears are 18x9 or 9.5. All C5 and C6s and most, if not all, C4s have staggered fitment (often width and diameter) and you're likely going to need 4 rears to get the widths you want. 

In reply to GameboyRMH :

Yea, anything wider than a 255 in 17" diameter seems to have pretty limited tire selection, but the price does escalate very quickly in those sizes.

In reply to Furious_E :

Thank you, since this is going on a Jaguar, I’m sadly lacking in knowledge of the slang name for various wheels like  sawblades.  In fact I haven’t kept up at all since selling my 1986 back in 1990. 

16” would work too except the best I remember none of them were very open.   Given the race tracks I like  a wheel with a few narrow spokes  is a must to avoid serious brake fade.  

In fact I could even use 15” since there is such an abundance of used tires from NASCAR  except wide wheels  in 15” tend to be heavy steel with little back spacing. 

rslifkin said:

Do you have a ballpark for tire overall diameter that you want to run or that will fit the car well? 

Overall diameter is the variable I seek in leu of a quick change rear end.  A 25 inch would work well on a short track while a 28 would be best on the real high speed tracks I prefer. 

Tom Walkinshaw somehow fitted 17x12’s under the stock fenders of the XJS using stock suspension and original suspension mounting points.  

GTXVette said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I have both 16  17  for early c4  and an  18/19 set for late c4                        100 for early.    400 for staggerd set  

 Thank you for discussing prices.   May I assume those are market prices I should pay for used wheels, or is that good guy GRM pricing?  

I suppose I can get 4 of the same size wheels to do an easy alignment. Then switch to staggered sizes? 

What is the percentage of front/ rear weight on a Corvette?  It’s pretty close to 50-50 isn’t It?  And a stripped for racing car will lose weight on the interior but gain it back with the roll cage? 

frenchyd said:

rslifkin said:

Do you have a ballpark for tire overall diameter that you want to run or that will fit the car well? 

Overall diameter is the variable I seek in leu of a quick change rear end.  A 25 inch would work well on a short track while a 28 would be best on the real high speed tracks I prefer. 

Tom Walkinshaw somehow fitted 17x12’s under the stock fenders of the XJS using stock suspension and original suspension mounting points.  

 

That seems like a pretty small tire for that large of a car and the power you'll likely be making. 

For example, 25" that's a 225/45/17. Or some other rough estimates a 255/40/17, a 285/35/17, etc. 

For a 12" wide wheel, that would be something like a 335/20/17, which I don't think is a size anyone makes or has though of making.

Tried to copy paste some pics but can't , I have your phone number so will call when home from Hospital Later If you wish, GRM'er price but condition is  not anymore than useable. If you colored them W/Plastic dip or something they will be Fine. 

U Thanks, Appearance isn’t critical, being straight and round is.  I’m expecting 175+mph at Elkhart Lake once it’s fully sorted.  In the mean time I can use them on the MGuar 

It would be nice to get two sets one for slicks one for rains.  

z31maniac said:

frenchyd said:

rslifkin said:

Do you have a ballpark for tire overall diameter that you want to run or that will fit the car well? 

Overall diameter is the variable I seek in leu of a quick change rear end.  A 25 inch would work well on a short track while a 28 would be best on the real high speed tracks I prefer. 

Tom Walkinshaw somehow fitted 17x12’s under the stock fenders of the XJS using stock suspension and original suspension mounting points.  

 

That seems like a pretty small tire for that large of a car and the power you'll likely be making. 

For example, 25" that's a 225/45/17. Or some other rough estimates a 255/40/17, a 285/35/17, etc. 

 

For a 12" wide wheel, that would be something like a 335/20/17, which I don't think is a size anyone makes or has though of making.

I wonder what’s commonly available  in used racing tires 

For used racing tires, 19s aren't common. 17s and 18s would be much easier to find, you'd be looking for take-offs from modern cars like Toyobarus, Evos, WRXes, S2ks, etc, meant for rims 8~10 inches wide.

I would Love to sell Off some Stuff, and I will Sell you the 17" set for 100 bucks and do as you will with them , BUT I cannot Vouch for them enough to say they are safe at 175.  The one's I speak of were used just before the rear end axle's were widened on the c4 and look similar to what Dusterbd13 called a raydar wheel when looking for rims on his Truck if you saw that Thread.

The 18/19 set are 5 Spoke with NEW 19" Hoosiers on the rears, I would make you a deal just to keep from removing them from the wheels

GameboyRMH said:

For used racing tires, 19s aren't common. 17s and 18s would be much easier to find, you'd be looking for take-offs from modern cars like Toyobarus, Evos, WRXes, S2ks, etc, meant for rims 8~10 inches wide.

These are road racing tires?  Hopefully by well funded teams who will trade a new set of tires for a faster qualifying lap?  

I used to use dirt track tires that had been through one heat cycle on my Vintage road race car. They hardened just enough so they wouldn’t blister in the 15-20 lap races we ran  and yet were a lot stickier than the dedicated Vintage race tires.  Plus they were really really cheap ( as am I ) 

In reply to GTXVette :

Oh, I never expect any warranty on used wheels.   I strip any finish off and zygol them to check for cracks.  Just a normal part of race prep. 

BMW wheels at 5x120mm fit as well.

frenchyd said:

GameboyRMH said:

For used racing tires, 19s aren't common. 17s and 18s would be much easier to find, you'd be looking for take-offs from modern cars like Toyobarus, Evos, WRXes, S2ks, etc, meant for rims 8~10 inches wide.

These are road racing tires?  Hopefully by well funded teams who will trade a new set of tires for a faster qualifying lap?  

That's just what's common on track-driven cars these days...where exactly you might be able to get some depends on where you live or how much you're willing to pay for shipping. Here's a good article on that topic:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/used-rubber/

Stefan said:

BMW wheels at 5x120mm fit as well.

The Spec E46 setup is 255/40R17 Toyo RRs on 17x9s, although that size tire should also fit nicely on a 17x10.

GameboyRMH said:

frenchyd said:

GameboyRMH said:

For used racing tires, 19s aren't common. 17s and 18s would be much easier to find, you'd be looking for take-offs from modern cars like Toyobarus, Evos, WRXes, S2ks, etc, meant for rims 8~10 inches wide.

These are road racing tires?  Hopefully by well funded teams who will trade a new set of tires for a faster qualifying lap?  

That's just what's common on track-driven cars these days...where exactly you might be able to get some depends on where you live or how much you're willing to pay for shipping. Here's a good article on that topic:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/used-rubber/

 

Thank you, I’m familiar with the process, I used to have a regular source of used tires, a racer friend of mine was one of the front runners and his mother made him go on track with new rubber every time.  

1 lap or 20  they came off and new went on.  My deal was I took them all and shared with whoever I could give them to.  Since I mounted and balanced my own tires  it wasn’t expensive.  I even recycled wheel weights.

Plus I had a tire dealer who took my take offs when I was finished.  So I didn’t even have a disposal fee.   

Keep in mind that many Camaro and Vette wheels are positive offset.

z31maniac said:

For a 12" wide wheel, that would be something like a 335/20/17, which I don't think is a size anyone makes or has though of making.

lol.  Someone should make a 335/40R15 (for the 25" users) and a 335/30 for the honda/miata guys

ProDarwin said:

z31maniac said:

For a 12" wide wheel, that would be something like a 335/20/17, which I don't think is a size anyone makes or has though of making.

lol.  Someone should make a 335/40R15 (for the 25" users) and a 335/30 for the honda/miata guys

Just have to show the demand! That's why there is 225/45 and a 245/40 street tire from multiple manufacturers. 

I've only ever tracked Miata's on 205 Rcomps, or 225 200TW tires. I can't imagine the grip of something like a 245 Hoosier on a well setup Miata. 

I got 4 C5 Z06 front wheels, 17x9.5 with Nitto 275/35 NT05 tires (iirc), probably not cheap to ship from 33064.  I bought these new and they are Speedline, not the replica wheels.